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| | LATEST NEWS FOR PRINCIPALS |
District Administration Magazine
Once used to reflect successful memorization of facts and figures, the process of grading has transformed into a near meaningless code, often fogged by a variety of factors that have nothing to do with learning. Cathy Vatterott, a professor of education at the University of Missouri — St. Louis, says that over the years, grades have come to reflect student compliance more than student learning and engagement.
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Education Week
The American Express Foundation is awarding nearly $2.5 million to support five principal preparation and training programs in the foundation's first major foray into education leadership philanthropy. The winners are a diverse group that includes a state education department, a school district, a state principals and assistant principals association, and nonprofits that have long focused on improving preparation and support for school leaders.
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eSchool News
Eighty-five percent of teachers in a recent survey said they would devote more instructional time to hands-on science-based learning if they had the chance. Eighty percent of those respondents said they lack time due to other educational priorities, and 49 percent said they lack funding to do so. These responses are part of the Bayer Facts of Science Education Surveys, polled a variety of audiences to gauge the state of science education in the United States. It was conducted as part of a 20 year benchmark survey; a similar survey was conducted in 1995.
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Scholastic Administration Magazine
Many teachers have guided reading in their instructional toolbox, and they consider it a necessary strategy, especially in classrooms where differentiation is key. For Allison Hepfer, who teaches kindergarten at Hamagrael Elementary in Delmar, New York, guided reading is a cornerstone of her literacy instruction. She meets with small groups of students on a daily basis, supporting them as they learn to use reading strategies.
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Phys.org
Are computer games for learning or just for fun? That's the question Hiller Spires, NC State professor of literacy and technology, tackles in a commentary for the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Spires says while we may not think of them as texts, computer games use multiple modes of communication — writing, speech, sound, music and still and moving images. Skilled game players gain fluency in the specialized "language" of the game. What's more, they may be motivated to read while playing, which helps build literacy.
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Science Weekly Magazine
Science Weekly Magazine
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Te@chThought (commentary)
It's like looking at a photograph where only a small bit of the picture is discernible, but you can't tell that what you're actually looking at. This is what happens when students turn in incomplete assignments. Incomplete assignments only give a partial snapshot of student ability. We might only see their ability to answer surface questions and not see that they are capable of probing the deeper nuances of a given content area–literature, world civilizations or the scientific process. The biggest need for any teacher is having a clear view of what students can and cannot accomplish. This knowledge is our guide and signpost for helping our students.
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By: Douglas Magrath
 Testing in ESL is the means of assessing the learners' progress in specific skill areas. Teachers need to make up their own tests to measure the learners' progress, to examine specific skill areas and to discover deficiencies. Traditionally, tests have been linguistics-based in nature, in that specific items are tested rather than semantics where the focus is on functional language use. Discrete-point tests have a purpose, but they are not the best way of testing language competence.
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MindShift
At a recent talk for special education teachers at the Los Angeles Unified School District, child development professor Maryanne Wolf urged educators to say the word dyslexia out loud. "Don't ever succumb to the idea that it's going to develop out of something, or that it's a disease," she recalled telling teachers. "Dyslexia is a different brain organization that needs different teaching methods. It is never the fault of the child, but rather the responsibility of us who teach to find methods that work for that child." Wolf, who has a dyslexic son, is on a mission to spread the idea of "cerebrodiversity," the idea that our brains are not uniform and we each learn differently.
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K-12TechDecisions
How do these teachers find and then evaluate the games that they use? The most common way of learning about any educational tools is from peers. While face to face networks are limited by the number of interactions with people in one's grade, school or conferences, online professional learning networks have become invaluable. The edWeb.net network offers a game based learning community of over 8,500 members, along with open discussions and a monthly webinar on different aspects of edugaming. There is also a Google+ community of gaming educators that discusses games and game based learning. It is not as active, but can be a good place to ask a question.
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Education Week
There are no stupid questions. But when it comes to the Common Core, teachers are finding that their questions could be asking a lot more of students. Educators have called the focus on "close reading" one of the most critical shifts in the Common Core State Standards' approach to literacy, and one that many teachers need practice to perfect. Using questioning techniques, teachers can guide students to think critically about complex literary and informational texts and to construct evidence-based arguments based on them. But getting students to dig into deeper meaning requires going beyond simply asking them to cite an example or find an answer in the text. It means encouraging them to build interpretations and analyses from what they've read.
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EdSurge (commentary)
Kayla Delzer, a contributor for EdSurge, writes: "It's been my dream to make my 2nd grade classroom look more like a 'Starbucks for kids', and less like, well, a classroom. Think about when you go to Starbucks to complete some work. Why do you choose to work there? Where do you choose to sit? I usually gravitate towards the comfy seating choices like the couches and big chairs, and yet, I see people choose the tables and chairs over and over again. Regardless, when you walk into Starbucks, you have choice. You get to choose where you sit. No one checks you in and directs you to a spot, telling you that you must sit there for the remainder of the day to do your work. If you need to get up, walk around, or choose a different seat, you are free to do so."
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THE Journal
Paying performance bonuses to teachers works — at least a little bit. However, figuring out who really deserves bonuses within the school or district is challenging. Those are two early findings from a project examining the impact of pay-for-performance among educators. A federal bill in 2010 created the Teacher Incentive Fund, grants to support performance-based compensation programs for teachers and principals in high-needs schools. The goal of the funding is to increase the number of high-performing teachers in those schools by rewarding them for improving students' achievement. Bonuses were meant to be "substantial," "hard to earn" and higher for the highest-performing teachers.
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Connected Principals (commentary)
Jessica Outram, a contributor for Connected Principals blog, writes: "This summer I spent a lot of time with my cousin who wrote a six-part blog series about collective impact that I followed in August. It got me thinking about how this type of intentional work within schools and within our broader school communities could better support students. Promoting well-being is a focus in Ontario schools. It includes supporting the whole child: cognitive, emotional, social and physical well-being. The most challenging area is mental health. We have access to more experts and resources than in the history of schooling. We have processes in place to support students in crisis and ongoing training for all staff. There is a lot to celebrate. But I think everyone would agree that there is still more work to do. Our kids still need more."
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District Administration Magazine
From hurricanes to software viruses to accidental keystrokes, many dangers threaten to corrupt school district data or impede access to it. To prevent loss of critical information, districts back up data routinely, on location and off-site. Districts typically take a tiered approach, moving data between high-cost backup services that offer more immediate access and lower-cost solutions for archival storage. But new devices and lower-priced cloud offerings mean districts no longer have to trade access for cost.
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eSchool News
U.S. businesses could increase their positive contribution to and impact on public K-12 education if they adopt a newly-established approach that connects students in poverty to services essential to their success. The study, released by Harvard Business School's U.S. Competiveness Project, focuses on communities across the nation that have implemented the Collective Impact approach and have seen meaningful improvement in educational outcomes.
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"The Fundamental 5 maximizes teacher effectiveness. It is the best instructional system I have ever observed." Robert Brezina, U.S. Academic Decathlon Past President.
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| | FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND POLICY |
The New York Times
Arne Duncan, the secretary of education and a member of President Barack Obama's original cabinet, will step down in December after a long tenure in which he repeatedly challenged the nation's schools to break out of their hidebound ways. A White House official confirmed Duncan's decision to step down and said the president has decided to name John B. King Jr., the deputy secretary of education, to replace Duncan to lead the Department of Education.
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Education Week
News that Education Secretary Arne Duncan was leaving his post at the end of December reverberated among those representing the nation's districts and school district leaders. Reactions ranged from surprise at the Council of the Great City Schools, the Washington-based organization that represents some of the nation's largest urban school districts, to gratitude for an emphasis during Duncan's tenure on school leadership at the National Association of Elementary School Principals, which noted that while it did not always see eye-to-eye with Duncan on policy, the NAESP had "agreed with the secretary on his unwavering commitment to children and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to access a high-quality education."
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The Huffington Post
The Justice Department got involved with a federal lawsuit against a Kentucky school resource officer who was seen keeping a third-grader with ADHD in handcuffs in a video that went viral this summer. The video of the crying child surfaced as part of a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children's Law Center filed in August on behalf of two children. The suit alleges that the Kenton County Sheriff's Office violated the constitutional rights of the children who were handcuffed, as well as their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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The Washington Post
Students at Leckie Elementary in Washington, D.C., returned to school this year with new style. Following approval from parents and a landslide vote from students, principal Atasha James abandoned the school's mandatory uniform policy and gave students a chance to wear what they want. So long to those forest green or khaki pants and yellow shirts. This year, children are sporting blue jeans, superhero tees, stripes and every color of the rainbow. "Some girls love to wear their ball gowns to school. I say, 'If you like it, fine,'" James said. "To see them in their own clothing, I can see their personalities more, and I love it."
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The Hechinger Report
When Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York, announced that the Common Core wasn't working and that he would commission a committee to overhaul the state's "Common Core system," the governor became the first Democrat to venture down a path well-worn by Republican governors in red states like Oklahoma, Indiana and Louisiana. Whether this is a sign of a coming bipartisan dismantling of the Common Core or just a sign that Cuomo is willing to sacrifice the Common Core to keep his other educational priorities — particularly test-based teacher evaluations — afloat is up for debate. Less debatable is the uniqueness of how New York went about implementing the Common Core, a set of math and reading standards in place in 44 states and the District of Columbia.
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NAESP
NAESP issued the following statement on U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's announcement to step down in December: "NAESP commends Secretary Duncan for his efforts to improve the nation's education system over the past several years. While we have not always seen eye-to-eye on policy, we have agreed with the Secretary on his unwavering commitment to children and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to access a high-quality education."
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NAESP
Registration for NAESP's 2016 Best Practices for Better Schools Conference is now open! Plan to join us July 6-8 in National Harbor, MD (just outside D.C.). Come into town a few days early and take advantage of discounted hotel rates of $188/night (July 1-July 4) at the beautiful Gaylord National Resort, and enjoy the 4th of July in the nation's capital! Visit www.naespconference.org for more information.
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